Australian history is replete with drama, yet for many, Australia’s history from 1788 only consists of indigenous dispossession, convicts, gold-rushes, bushrangers and ANZACs. This book proves this view wrong — sure, we do include the old favourites – but there are many other tales to intrigue you. There’s the custom official with the ingenious way of detecting illegal immigrants, the escapee who enjoys the taste of homo-sapiens, a colonial governor with a penchant for practical jokes, an evil military secret and an insider’s view of a female mental asylum. Showcased here are thirty-three award-winning stories from Australian history, all based on real events, that shine a light on some of the lesser known corners of our past.

“Drop your breeches. There’s a good lad.” The ship’s medical officer barely looks at me. He has his back to me while he waits for me to oblige. A small mallet twirls in his fingers. I dunno what he thinks he’s going to do with that. “Strip, lad. That’s an order. What’s your name?”

“It’s…”

I can’t answer. Of all the ridiculous things I’ve failed at, forgetting to have a name is by far the most stupid.

— From “The Stowaway” by Catherine McGraffin

My eardrums shudder. The door erupts. A bag of flour flies across the room filling it with white fog. Noise reverberates around my skull, shatters the window. After the blast there is silence. For a few seconds I think I’m deaf. Then a thin wail pierces the paralysis; screams, thudding footsteps, shocked voices and the high-pitched terror of horses overwhelm the settlement.

— From “Never Again” by Rosemary Stride

“But, dear Elizabeth, you simply can’t accept it.”

“Of course I can, John.”

“Whatever will people think, a married woman accepting a gift like that?”

“They’d think lucky woman.”

— From “Worgan’s Piano” by Peter Long.